Prior to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahus emergency
meeting on Tuesday with Russian President Putin, the Israeli
governments key officials came to a dramatic, conclusive
agreement regarding policy for dealing with Syria,  IF
 Russia proceeded with its delivery and set-up of the S-300
air defense systems in Syria.

The Israeli government reserves the right:

1. To attack the S-300 systems even if Russian personnel
are present and killed.
2. To launch pre-emptive strikes on Syria as needed to prevent
further transfer of WMDs to Hezbollah or other terror groups.

If Assad attempts any retaliation either directly or through
proxy Palestinian or Hezbollah forces, Israel reserves the right:

1. To destroy the Syrian government and any proxy forces
involved.
2. Hunt down and kill Assad and his family

IF Russia attempts to retaliate for any S-300 attacks
by taking military action against Israel, Israel reserves the
right:

1. To respond in kind.
2. If military escalations continued with Russia, Israel is fully
prepared to use whatever weapons are available at its disposal
against Russia.

The latter threat is a veiled reference to Israels
inventory of nuclear weapons, reportedly totaling somewhere around
400 warheads.

Putin Responds

During his meeting with Israeli PM Netanyahu, Putin warned
the Israeli leader that Israel was heading for war with Syria
and Russia. Putin left open the possibility of Russian combat
forces beyond the mere trainer-technicians manning the new S-300
batteries that were already being unloaded in Syria as the two
men spoke.

Netanyahu had brought along his top expert on chemical weapons
with evidence to prove Syria was preparing to cross the red
line and distribute those weapons to Hezbollah. Also, during
the meeting, the Russian leader received news that the USS Kearsarge,
an amphibious carrier had docked in the southern Israeli port
city of Eilat on the Red Sea. The ship carries a compliment of
1,800 US Marines along with a special consignment of 20 V-22
Ofsprey helicopters which had been promised by Secretary of Defense
Hagel during his April visit.

The amphibious group will remain on station in the area,
fully within range and capable of responding to any crisis in
the Syrian theater. This move is to guard against any aggression
by Syria-Hezbollah-Iran against Israel or Jordan. Putin viewed
the move with distrust.

The Israeli Prime Minister informed the Russian President
that Israel would continue to strike any Syrian attempts to transfer
arms to Hezbollah. He further stated that any Syrian retaliation
would be met by Israeli escalation to the point that Israel would
destroy Syrias military capability leaving Assad alone
to contend with rebel forces. Putin responded by saying he doubted
Israel could accomplish such a feat.

Afterwards, the Russian leader appeared to remain confident
that Israel was incapable of carrying out its threats against
Assad when Russia would do whatever is necessary to protect Assad.
Netanyahu and his team flew back home, the consensus among the
group was that Putin had decided to put Israel to the test and
will permit Assad to supply Hezbollah with advanced weapons,
including chemical weapons. It was perceived that Putin is practically
begging for a fight.

On Wednesday, Syrian mortar fire fell on the Israeli side
of the Golan Heights. There was no damage or injuries but Netanyahus
government interpreted the action to mean that Assad figures
he has a free hand now to go on the offensive against Israel.
Israel responded late Wednesday evening to the event by issuing
a strong warning to Assad that if he retaliated against any Israeli
air strikes, Israel would remove him from power. This warning
was further strengthened by an off-the-record interview
by an Israeli official with the New York Times which was even
more strongly worded. Within a few hours, rockets from a Palestinian
splinter group landed on the Golan Heights. Tel Aviv interpreted
this as Assads answer to the Israeli warning, using the
Palestinians as a proxy force.

Netanyahu and his cabinet respond to the rocket incident
by blinking. More than likely this was due to new moves by Russia.
As the Israeli government contemplated a military response, Russian
warships from the Russian Pacific Fleet traversed the Suez Canal
moving into Mediterranean waters to join other Russian warships
that had already arrived from the Russian Northern Fleet. Suddenly,
Russia has the dominant naval presence in the Mediterranean Sea
with at least 12 warships guarding Syria.

Under President Obamas orders, the US Navy has been
pulled from the Mideast region and the Mediterranean. The U.S.
has no aircraft carrier battle groups in the Mediterranean, however,
the USS Kearsarge ( amphibious landing carrier) is conducting
a port call at the southern Israeli port city of Eilat along
the Red Sea in the Gulf of Aqaba. Even so, there is no real U.S.
naval presence to counter the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean.
This is due, in part to deliberate White House efforts to diminish
US power under the excuse of federal budget sequestration limits,
particularly with regards to the USS Truman and USS Bush. Aside
from the USS Eisenhowers position outside of the Persian
Gulf, the US Navy has the USS Nimitz in the general vicinity
of North Korea. Every other carrier is in port to save
money.

In addition to Russias naval activities, the Russians
have also shipped sophisticated anti-ship missiles known as the
Yakhont to Syria. These missiles pose a major threat to any size
warship including aircraft carriers and a special threat to Israels
small surface warships.

These latest moves by Russia, along with the arrival of Russias
vaunted S-300 air defense systems has in large measure forced
Israeli officials to give second and third thoughts to initiating
further military action against targets in Syria and or Lebanon.
The reality is that Russia is essentially tying Israels
hands leaving Israel with few, if any, options. Israels
only real option to take as many defensive steps as possible
for self-protection.

Warnings Fly

Last week, an Israeli official confirmed that a dramatic
and unprecedented message to this effect had been conveyed to
Damascus, Channel 2 news reported.

The report said that Israels position to this effect
also came up during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus
emergency meeting in Russia on Tuesday with President Vladimir
Putin, during which Netanyahu also told Putin of Israels
profound opposition to Russias sale of sophisticated S-300
missile defense batteries to Assad.

The warning came hours after mortar shells hit the Mount
Hermon area for the first time in the two-year Syrian civil war,
and as Arabic newspapers reported talk of Hezbollah opening a
new front against Israel on the Golan Heights.

Syria vowed last week to respond immediately and harshly
to any further Israeli airstrikes, after Israel carried out two
early morning attacks earlier this month on weapons consignments
being stored in and around Damascus en route from Iran to Hezbollah
in Lebanon. The shipments contained highly sophisticated Fateh-110
missiles.

Confirmation of Israels warning to Assad came soon
after the New York Times quoted an Israeli official issuing the
same threat. The New York Times said Israel was considering
further military strikes on Syria to stop the transfer of advanced
weapons to Islamic militants, and that an unnamed Israeli
official had contacted the paper to warn: Israel is determined
to continue to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah.
The transfer of such weapons to Hezbollah will destabilize and
endanger the entire region. If Syrian President Assad reacts
by attacking Israel, or tries to strike Israel through his terrorist
proxies, he will risk forfeiting his regime, for Israel will
retaliate.

Israel will continue its policy of interdicting attempts
to strengthen Hezbollah, but will not intercede in the Syrian
civil war as long as Assad desists from direct or indirect attacks
against Israel.

The New York Times report speculated that Israel could
be trying to restrain Syrias behavior without undertaking
further military action, or alerting the international community
to another strike. That would ratchet up the tension in an already
fraught situation in Syria, where a civil war has been raging
for more than two years.

Channel 2 on Wednesday night showed satellite images of what
it said was a surgical strike, reportedly carried out by Israel
at Damascus airport to target the Iranian missile consignments.
It showed before and after pictures of specific buildings that
had been blown up, while neighboring buildings remained intact.
Israel has not formally confirmed either of this months
attacks.

Channel 2 said Netanyahu had made clear to Putin  as
he also had in recent conversations with US President Barack
Obama and the Chinese leadership  that Israel would hold
to its red lines as related to Syria, which included
preventing the transfer of sophisticated weaponry to Hezbollah
and other rogue organizations. source  Times Of Israel.
LINK. http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-will-bring-down-assad-if-he-retaliates-for-future-airstrikes/

Historical Reminder:

Amidst all the warnings being issued this past week, Israel
issued closed door earnest warnings (on a smaller
scale) earlier this year, before 3 different air strikes on Syria.

It is believed this latest warning indicates Israel is prepared
to carry out additional strikes in the very near future.

It is also indicative that Israel is done with
Obama  at precisely the moment Obamas political future
hits a brick wall with scandal after scandal. Another tell-tale
indication that perhaps the puppet-masters are circumventing
Obama to push forward their world agenda for a Mideast War, sooner,
rather than later.

White House Scandals Are Impacting Mideast Developments

The scandals now breaking in Washington concerning the Obama
Administration are eerily similar to Watergate in the spring
of 1973.

Within 6 months of the Watergate scandal breaking, we had
the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

We seem to be following an eerily similar pattern now, 40
years later. Dont be surprised if military action breaks
out in the next 72 hours.

Stay tuned. Developing

Hezbollah Commander Boasts of Coming War

Over the weekend, a ranking Hezbollah commander boasted that
Hezbollah is making final preparations for an invasion of Israel.

The unidentified commander gave an interview to a Kuwaiti
newspaper, boasting that Syria had already given Hezbollah a
number of different high-tech advanced weapons, including Russian
Pantsyr mobile air defense systems as well as SAM-5 anti-air
missiles and anti-tank Kornet missiles. The Hezbollah commander
also hinted that some of the new Yakhont anti-ship missiles given
to Syria by Russia will soon make their way to Hezbollah. Other
regional experts believe that one S-300 mobile air defense battery
will also be given to Hezbollah.

How soon, Hezbollah will be given orders to attack Israel
is an unknown but there are indications it could be just a matter
of weeks or at most, months away.

Syrias Assad About To Test Israel Again

According to late-breaking intelligence reports from the
Mideast, the Syrian Army, along with Hezbollah and Iranian forces
have been conducting a 3-week blitzkrieg against the Syrian rebels
primary stronghold in northwestern Syria. Over the weekend, the
blitzkrieg has pushed the rebels back towards Turkey. This latest
victory opens up a major highway between Syria and Hezbollah
strongholds in Lebanon. Opening up this route will enable Assad
to transfer high-tech weapons and missiles to Hezbollah mountain
warehouses in Lebanon with little recourse by Israel.

Assads forces have decided that the best way to transfer
high tech weapons to Hezbollah is to dissassemble the weapons
into non-descript packages and ship them out via ordinary vehicles.
Such an approach prevents Israel from distinguishing between
military and civilian shipments and thus successful transfers
of weapons being brought in by Iran. Iranian techs can then help
re-assemble high-tech weapons inside mountain caves that are
hidden from Israel. It is just a matter of time, before Hezbollah
is equipped with new, high-tech weapons that could be a match
for Israels military.

With such an operation, we suspect that Iran and Hezbollah
will try to avoid any premature confrontation with Israel, until
the weapons transfers are completed and the weapons re-assembled
and deployed.

Iran Prepares Terror Campaign Against USA

Intelligence sources report that contacts within Iran are
reporting that the regime in Tehran has formed a coalition of
different terrorist groups to conduct terror operations inside
the continental United States. This coalition would be used simultaneously
with hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.

One expert on Iranian affairs says that the Iran officials
have concocted 3 imminent terror operations to be conducted within
the U.S. to scare the American public into giving up support
for Israel and thus changing American foreign policy in the Mideast
that would abandon Israel. This might well explain Jeremiah 51,
verses 1 and 2 which we have speculated in the past as involving
Iranian terrorists operating within the USA homeland.

If all of this is true, and if an Iranian terror campaign
is implemented inside the USA, then we may well see prophetic
events unfolding it short order, including the Rapture and the
fiery one-hour destruction of Babylon-America

http://blog9.cephasministry.com/?p=322

-----

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD

by Ron Kenner - American Reporter Media Writer -

Despite some excellent essays running in the media opinion
pages touching on the history of the Middle East and on Egypt
(which is in North Africa, between Libya and Saudi Arabia, above
Sudan, south of Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea, on the west
side of the Red Sea), it's difficult to cover these issues with
any of the depth found in "Devil's Game," but I'll
try:
The Cold War stretched mainly from 1946 through 1989, a period
covered by Dreyfuss in his book, along with additional commentary
(before and afterward) relevant to the current Egyptian uprising.

In one sampling, in a chapter called "Islam meets the
Cold War," ranging from the early 1940s through the late
1950s, Dreyfuss notes:

The Anglo-American alliances in the Middle East rested on
the traditional levers of external influence - military power,
economic muscle, and diplomacy. More quietly, though, as the
Cold War evolved, an additional factor emerged to bolster the
U.S. and U.K. presence, namely the religious and cultural power
of political Islam. Especially important in that regard was Saudi
Arabia's would-be role as Islam's Vatican. As Saudi Arabia emerged
as America's counterweight to Egypt, Nasser, and nationalism,
a number of Muslim Brotherhood organizers emerged as emissaries
for the Islamic right across the region - none, perhaps, more
important than Said Ramadan.
Ramadan, a key Brotherhood ideologue, served as Saudi Arabia's
unofficial ambassador of Islamism. As the Muslim Brotherhood
struggled to maintain its presence in Egypt, where it was increasingly
at odds with the new regime under Nasser, Saudi Arabia not only
bankrolled the Brothers but offered its territory as a safe haven.
A series of Saudi kings were preoccupied with the threat of communism,
and they saw the Muslim Brotherhood and others on the Islamic
right as the leading edge of the anti-communist movement. Equally
important, perhaps, Saudi Arabia saw Egypt's Nasser as a dire
threat, since Nasser - ruling impoverished Egypt - coveted Saudi
Arabia's oil. So for reasons of both anti-communism and anti-Arab
nationalism, Saudi Arabia encouraged the growth of the Muslim
Brotherhood in Egypt and throughout the Middle East." Continued:
http://www.american-reporter.com/4,741/358.html

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center, Israeli President
Shimon Peres, right, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
all shake hands during the World Economic Forum on the Middle
East and North Africa at the King Hussein Convention Centre at
the Dead Sea in Jordan Sunday May 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Pool, Jim
Young)
By BRADLEY KLAPPER

Associated Press / May 26, 2013

SOUTHERN SHUNEH, Jordan (AP)  Secretary of State John
Kerry declared Sunday he believes a potential $4 billion plan
is emerging that could expand the Palestinian economy by up to
50 percent in the next three years [...]

100,000 new homes, many of them energy efficient, could
be built in the next three years.

The former Massachusetts senator, who has been trying as
well to restart direct Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations,
was to meet later Sunday in Amman with Blair, American hedge
fund investor Tim Collins and the foreign ministers of Jordan
and the United Arab Emirates.

He said he has been coordinating with leading business experts
around the world and that the plan would explore new opportunities
in tourism, construction, light manufacturing, agriculture, energy
and communications.

"Is this a fantasy?" Kerry asked the crowd. "I
don't think so, because there are already great examples of investment
and entrepreneurship that are working in the West Bank. We know
it can be done, but we've never experienced the kind of concentrated
effort that this group is talking about bringing to the table."

He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas support the plan, but he added that it
won't truly take hold unless both sides make headway on restarting
peace talks.

Abbas also attended the conference in Jordan, as did Israeli
President Shimon Peres, though they offered two starkly different
messages on the peace impasse. The Palestinian leader spent much
of the time criticizing Israeli intransigence, while the Israeli
Nobel Peace Prize laureate pressed his government's view that
negotiations should begin immediately without preconditions.

Kerry allowed that barriers to commerce would have to be
removed to spur economic growth. The Palestinians have long complained
about limitations on movement and investment that have hampered
its economic potential.

Kerry has made four trips to Israel and the Palestinian territories
over the last two months in an effort to rejuvenate the peace
process. He hasn't made any tangible success so far but insists
he is engaged in productive talks with both sides.

IRAN SOURCE: PRESIDENT AHMADINEJAD ARRESTED
Taken to secret location for 7 hours before released - Published:
04/30/2013 at 8:45 PM by Reza Kahlili

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was arrested and held
for seven hours Monday and warned to keep his mouth shut about
matters detrimental to the Islamic regime before he was released,
according to a source within the Revolutionary Guards intelligence
unit.

After his visit to Tehrans 26th international book
fair Monday, the source said the head of Ahmadinejads security
team informed the Iranian president that he had been asked to
appear at the supreme leaders office for an urgent matter.

On the way to the meeting, contact between the security team
within the presidents convoy was disconnected while three
other cars joined the convoy, instructing the lead car to take
a different direction. Ahmadinejad, instead of being taken to
the supreme leaders office, was taken to a secret location
in one of the buildings belonging to the Foreign Ministry, which
is under the control of the Revolutionary Guards intelligence
unit. Continued:

SYRIA: ATTACK ON MILITARY FACILITY WAS A 'DECLARATION OF
WAR' BY ISRAEL

By Frederik Pleitgen and Sara Sidner, CNN - May 5, 2013 Syrian
official: Israel will suffer
Damascus, Syria (CNN) -- A series of massive explosions illuminated
the dark sky over Damascus early Sunday, igniting renewed claims
that Israel has launched attacks into the war-torn country.
A top Syrian official told CNN in an exclusive interview that
the attack was a "declaration of war" by Israel. Syria's
government said the target was a military research facility outside
Damascus.
Syrian authorities vowed to retaliate against Israel but did
not specify what action they would take.
Powerful explosions rock Damascus suburb
"We do not comment on these reports at all," an Israeli
military representative said.
Syrian state-run TV claimed that the Israeli rocket attack on
the research center aided rebels, who have been battling government
forces in the region. But state media reports did not provide
details about what type of research occurs in the center, or
how much damage occurred in Sunday's attacks.
Obama lied to Netanyahu when he said that he would support Netanyahu
if he decides to go to war with Syria / Iran and I believe Netanyahu
wants to prove the lie by testing the promise Obama made.
Netanyahu had orders from Obama next, not to do anything against
Syria or Iran and guess what? It provoked Netanyahu to do just
the opposite. Of course that was the mistake I was waiting for
to provide the world the excuse they need to take Israel out.
The Pope got an agreement with Israel to have the Upper Room
in Old Jerusalem where Jesus had His last supper with the disciples.
Some people think that may be equivalent with the peace agreement.
Next Obama committed to an eternal Alliance with Israel which
is now being violated by Israel not following orders. All the
billions ($80+billion in 2012 and $200+ million in 2013) Israel
received for defense of their country, apparently had strings.
Daniel 8:19-27 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what
shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time
appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having
two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat
is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his
eyes is the first king.
Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms
shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. And in
the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are
come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding
dark sentences, shall stand up.
And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and
he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise,
and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through
his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand;
and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall
destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;
but he shall be broken without hand. And the vision of the evening
and the morning which was told is true:
Ezekiel addresses Israel:
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more
than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked
in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have
done according to the judgments of the nations that are round
about you;
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against
thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the
sight of the nations.
Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations
that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.
So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an
astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when
I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in
furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.
Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall
escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered
through the countries. Eze 5:7,8,14,15; 6:8 http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/05/world/meast/syria-violence/

-----

ISRAEL FEARS END TO 40-YEAR PEACE ON SYRIAN FRONT
In this photo taken Wednesday, April 24, 2013, Gal Hirsch, a
reserve Israeli General, stands at an army outpost overlooking
Syria and Jordan in the Golan Heights. Against a breathtaking
vista of green fields and a snowcapped mountain range, all is
silent but for a strong gust of wind whipping across the landscape.
The tranquility is suddenly interrupted by a burst of gunfire
from beyond a newly built fortified fence: Jihadi rebels are
battling with Bashar Assad's battered troops in a nearby Syrian
village. Watching it all unfold are Israeli soldiers atop tanks
- a sight unseen here in a generation - and the sounds of explosions
from a large-scale Israeli drill are distinctly heard in the
background. (AP Photo - Sebastian Scheiner)By ARON HELLER
ALONEI HABASHAN, Golan Heights (AP) April 26, 2013 4:51 PM EDT
- Against a vista of green fields and snowcapped mountains, all
is silent but for a gusting wind. Then comes a burst of gunfire
from the Syrian civil war raging next door, where jihadist rebels
are battling Bashar Assad's troops in a village.

Watching it all unfold from a few kilometers (miles) away
are Israeli soldiers atop tanks behind a newly fortified fence,
while a large-scale Israeli drill sends off its own explosions
in the background.

This is the new reality on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights,
for 40 years the quietest of Israel's front lines, a place of
hiking trails, bird-watching, skiing and winery tour. The military
predicts all that will soon change as it prepares for the worst
 a power vacuum in Syria in which rogue groups could get
their hands of the country's large stockpile of chemical weapons.
Continued: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/26/3366624/israel-wary-quiet-on-syrian-front.html

-----

RUSSIA WARNS US AND ISRAEL!

HERE COMES THE BEAR/ MAGOG!

Negative diplomatic ricochets are pursuing Israel in the
aftermath of its air force attacks on Syria. In the first place,
they are seen to have had no effect on Hizballahs successful
military intervention on the side of the Assad regime or the
Syrian war at large. In the second, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu, while in Shanghai, was given a sharp dressing-down
by President Vladimir Putin. This is a warning that Russia would
not tolerate further Israeli attacks on Damascus and would respond.
Putin did not say how, but he did announce he had ordered the
acceleration of highly advanced Russian weapons supplies to Syria.
debkafiles military sources disclose that the Russian leader
was referring to S-300 anti-air systems and the nuclear-capable
9K720 Iskander (NATO named SS-26 Stone) surface missiles, which
are precise enough to hit a target within a 5-7 meter radius
at a distance of 280 kilometers.
In his phone call to Netanyahu, the Russian leader made no bones
about his determination not to permit the US, Israel or any other
regional force (e.g. Turkey and Qatar) overthrow President Bashar
Assad. He advised the prime minister to make sure to keep this
in mind.

Our sources add: Since Syrian air defense teams have already
trained in Russia on the handling of the S-300 interceptor batteries,
they can go into service as soon as they are landed by one of
Russias daily airlifts to Syria. Russian air defense officials
will supervise their deployment and prepare them for operation.
Moscow is retaliating not just for Israels air operations
against Syria but in anticipation of the Obama administrations
impending decision to send the first US arms shipments to the
Syrian rebels.

Intelligence agencies in Moscow and the Middle East take
it for granted that by the time Washington goes public on this
decision, some of the Syrian rebel factions will already be armed
with American weapons. That the measure was in the works was
signified by the introduction Monday by Bob Menendez, chairman
of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of legislation allowing
the US to provide arms and military training to the Syrian rebels,
US military instructors have been working with Syrian rebels
at training camps in Jordan and Turkey for some months. So putting
the arms in their hands only awaited a decision in Washington.

Putins message to Netanyahu was intended to reach a
wider audience than Jerusalem, such as Barack Obama in Washington
and President Xi Jinping in Beijing ahead of Netanyahus
talks. Therefore, when US Secretary of State John Kerry landed
in Moscow that day, in an attempt bridge the divide
between their governments on the Syria conflict, he was preceded
by a barrage of Russian condemnation of the Israeli air strikes
in Damascus as a threat to regional stability, a
stiff warning from the Russian foreign ministry to the West
to stop politicizing the issue of chemical weapons in Syria,
and Moscows concern that world public opinion was
being prepared for possible foreign military intervention.

In other words, the Russian leader rejected in advance and
with both hands any attempt by the US to use the Israeli air
strikes as leverage for a deal with Moscow for ending the Syrian
war. US weapons supplies to the rebels would furthermore be matched
by stepped-up arms supplies to the Assad regime, which Putin
is totally committed to preserving. Kerry planned back-to-back
meetings with Russian officials focusing on Syria but also covering
the Russian angle on the Boston bombings, and hoped-for cooperation
on the Iranian and North Korean nuclear issues. The Chinese governments
cold shoulder to Israel was exhibited less directly that Moscows
but no less firmly.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was invited to visit Beijing
and meet President Xi two days before the prime arrived in the
Chinese capital to begin the official part of his visit. The
Chinese president unveiled his peace plan before meeting the
Israeli prime minister. This plan emphasizes, as the key to a
settlement, the Palestinian right to a state on the basis of
1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital. It also adopts
Abbass preconditions for talks, including a stop to settlement
activities, an end of the Gaza blockade and proper handling
of the Palestinian prisoners issue.